Attitude Derides Hard-working Americans

January 14, 2002|By Lily Guzman

As I watched Fox news on Jan. 5, I was appalled by the insulting comments of Pat Buchanan, promoting his book The Death of the West, regarding Hispanic immigrants and how "they" must be kept out -- a group that comes to this country searching for a better life, often working under inhumane conditions, thus keeping the economy afloat by getting done, the work that no other social class will do.

This opportunistic philosophy and "country club mentality," feeding fear and bigotry to the public, divide America.

As a Republican, I used to have some respect for this gentleman, before seeing the self-serving interview taking advantage of the insecurities we face in America as a result of Sept. 11.

Buchanan showed his deep-seated bigotry and lack of respect for other cultures and ethnic groups. He does not seem to understand that America is more than a piece of land. It is the collective consciousness and the commitment of millions of people, "under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." We are one, the inhabitants of a planet that need to be protected under the greatest principles ever written, the principles that every freedom-loving citizen of the world upholds and cherishes. The world understood the need for a united front after Sept. 11; Buchanan understood the need for tightening the security of his club.

I am an immigrant who came to America to work and, like every immigrant who comes to the open embrace of the real Americans, I learned to love America. I built my life and my family in America, raised my four children in America. I am American: God-fearing, law-abiding, as American as -- or even more than -- what this exclusionist could possibly be.

How long does one have to be here before the country club crowd considers us American? How long do we have to serve at the tables of the club?

Historically, Hispanics were in America long before Mr. Buchanan's grandfathers. Let's keep history in perspective and the American dream alive.